Residents of Oturehua are disgruntled with an RNZ story about the town which ran earlier this week (Monday September 8). 

The story correctly says there are historic businesses for sale in the town, but what caused the pushback was the headline: ‘Most of Oturehua’s Main Street is on the Market’.

It's not. 

Residents have pointed out there are three businesses for sale (the pub, the shop and the backpackers); the pub and the shop both have associated B&Bs, and the shop manages the mail run. Many residents live along the main street, and those homes are not for sale.

Following the article’s publication, a local posted on the town’s community chat on Messenger: “…I’ve been inundated with [messages from] friends around the country pointing out our sale status – it’s either very flattering or a bit depressing I can’t decide which.” 

Another resident proposed the idea of a t-shirt: ‘We  Oturehua’

One Oturehua resident said it's not just the natural beauty of the area that captivates people, it is also “a fiercely proud and vibrant community”, with plenty going on. 

In the past few months alone, the Oturehua Hall has hosted the Ida Valley Winter Art Show, a community-run lunch for car enthusiasts, and a potluck dinner to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. 

Over the same period a Not the Brass Monkey Rally was held, and the annual Duck Dinner was hosted at the pub [Oturehua Railway Hotel]. Add to this a Night Sky Tour and a Just Janie concert held at Inverlair Lodge, and coming soon there will be the Under Rough Ridge writers retreat, and the ROCK wellbeing/personal restoration retreat. Then there are groups for curling, cricket, mountain biking, meditation, and more.  

The tight-knit community is also proud of the way people pitch in to help each other. Families who have farmed in the valley have been helping each other out for generations. If things need to get done, they get done.

One resident told The Central App: "If you happen to buy one of the businesses that is for sale in Oturehua, you might just find that you have won the lotto for the best place to live in New Zealand."

Residents say no-one put it better than the late Brian Turner, a former Oturehua resident, who wrote:

‘Once in while

you may come across a place

where everything

seems as close to perfection

as you will ever need.’

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